CONSERVATISM FROM A FEMININE POINT OF VIEW

Tag Archives: Cliven Bundy

I had an English teacher when I was in Junior High who required us to read books and then do book reports. In doing our book reports, she emphasized to us that she wasn’t looking for summaries, but instead she was looking for meanings.

A good example of a novel where the actual meaning went far beyond the details of the story is John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill.” In his first and probably most intense novel, the reader gets to see a democratic form of government at its best and its worst. When you throw human emotions into the mix, you discover real conflicts where no one’s right or wrong. No one ever said that democracy is a perfect way to govern ourselves, but I think that we all can agree that it’s the best thing that we have been able to come up with to date.

What parent worth his or her weight wouldn’t kill someone who severely hurt his or her child? A long time ago, I was in a relationship and the guy hit me. I immediately broke up with him, but would never tell my parents what really happened. If my Dad had found out that he had physically abused me, he would have killed him, pure and simple. I can think of a couple of other men who have threatened to kill men that had hurt their daughters, not caring if they went to jail or got the death penalty.

On the other hand, our government provides for a justice system whereby individuals are not to take the law into their own hands. Everyone is entitled to a trial by jury no matter how egregious the crime is and is deemed innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his or her peers.

In my last post, I indicated that all Americans should monitor the Cliven Bundy case and the alleged land grab by the feds on the Texas side of the Red River which serves as the border between the states of Texas and Oklahoma. We should all be aware of our rights and wary of over-reach whether it’s by the government, our employer, companies with which we do business, etc.

As much as I hate to say this, all Americans should follow the Donald Sterling case also. When I first heard about it, I thought, oh no! Somebody else said something racial and that’s all we’re going to hear about on the news for a while. This person will be condemned by everyone and forced out of the L.A. Clippers organization and will be relegated to a life of misery. I didn’t even think or care of he was a democrat or a republican.

According to the facts of the case, Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA’s L.A. Clippers made some derogatory racial statements directed at African Americans in private. These statements were recorded by his girlfriend without his knowledge. In California where this happened, this is illegal and would not be permissible in a court of law. However, when Donald Sterling purchased the Clippers, he signed some sort of agreement giving up privacy rights.

It’s not exactly breaking news that freedom of speech in our nation is under attack and may, in fact, be gone forever. We all remember Miss California USA who opined that marriage should be between a man and a woman when asked if gay marriage should be legalized while competing in the Miss USA Pageant. This woman was demonized. And let’s also not forget Brendan Eich who was forced to resign as CEO of Mozilla all because he contributed $1,000 to an organization that supports the traditional view of marriage.

As in the Bundy and Texas land grab cases, we should watch the Sterling case regarding freedom of speech and remember all of the other incidents where someone espoused a belief that was contrary to what has become the new normal in our country.

Some of you liberals will probably miss the whole point of this post, and I actually expect it. This is not a post about the details of the Donald Sterling case or a post about freedom of speech or government over-reach. I’ll surely post many time concerning these topics. It’s a post about incidents that are taking place in the country that should serve as warning to all Americans as we witness the erosion of our freedoms, freedoms that made this nation an exceptional nation. Freedom has to be nurtured in order for it to be sustained, and having just the right combination of leaders and media can erode those freedoms. I fear that we have that right combination now.

Those of us who keep up with the news and watch the twenty-four news channels are surely familiar with the story of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada cattle rancher. In 1993, grazing rules were changed in the Gold Butte area whereby ranchers had to limit the grazing of their cattle in the Golden Butte area because of the endangered desert tortoise. After years of repeated violations of multiple court orders, in early April 2014, the Bureau of Land Management began seizing Bundy’s cattle that were grazing on what the BLM said was federal land. In seizing the cattle, the members of the BLM were armed with assault rifles and drove Hummers. Also, there were many who came out in support of Mr. Bundy, some of them packing heat. Then ensuing standoff ended when the BLM backed down and returned the surviving cattle (some had died) to Bundy.

According to various news reports, the Bundy family’s cattle had been grazing on these lands they were homesteading since the 1870s. He now owes the government more than one million dollars in grazing fees. Mr. Bundy has taken matters to court and lost each time. Of course, the left has demonized Mr. Bundy and Nevada Senator and Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid has called all of those supporting him domestic terrorists.

An issue in Texas is being reported from various media outlets regarding thousands of acres on the Texas side of the Red River, the border between Texas and Oklahoma. Officials have raised concerns that the BLM might be looking at reclaiming 90,000 acres as part of public domain. The BLM argues that any land in question was deemed to be public property as far back as 1986.On Monday, April 21, 2014; brietbart.com reported that a Texas landowner lost 140 acres to the BLM in that case. On Fox News, it has been indicated that much of this land is private property where the owners have deeds and are paying property taxes.

Cliven Bundy has defied the law and I’m not about to give him a pass on that. Now, it has come to pass that Bundy has said made some controversial comments regarding race. For his comments, he is sure to be castigated by both the left and the right.

I’m not going into the details on the above two stories because you can read them on your own, plus the point that I am trying to make with this post is not about the low level issues, it’s about the current culture in the United States of America. No matter which side of the aisle you consider yourself on, you should be following these stories.

According to the law, Cliven Bundy owes the government money. He’s been to court time after time and lost. He’s not violent, and although many on the left are calling him a thief, he’s not going to rob a bank or a local convenience store. Is he a racist? I don’t know because the definition of racism changes constantly to what those on the left want it to be. What should be done to someone who is determined to be a racist? I don’t know the answer to that either. Again, it’s not nice to be a racist, but there are probably some folks that feel a person who is a proven racist should die a slow painful death.

However, in seeking restitution, the federal government saw fit to seize his cattle and confront him and his supporters with firearms. When someone owes the government money, the government always collects, but generally goes about it with liens, garnishments, etc. Not with armored vehicles and guns. Government officials threatening non-violent citizens with guns shouldn’t happen in the United States of America and therefore, we should all be concerned.

Why were there so many folks supporting Cliven Bundy, a lawbreaker, when the Feds were threatening him? In my honest opinion, the American citizenry is so fed up with an over-reaching federal government. So much so, that they are ready to fight governmental actions, perhaps without contemplating the facts. The government is bloated, and the current president is acting like a king or a dictator forcing his left wing socialist agenda upon us with his phone and his pen.

With the power of the pen, could these so-called land-grabbing actions become commonplace? When the current president indicated that his goal was to fundamentally change America, chills ran up and down my spine. While I didn’t have the opportunity to ask him to define “fundamentally change,” I had a feeling that what he had in mind would be sinister. Sure, some things about this country needed some improvement, but fundamentally change? I don’t think so.

Since this president took office, the federal government has done the following:

Doubled the national debt.

Nationalized one-sixth of the nation’s economy.

Substantially increased the number of people receiving government assistance.

Has pretty much guaranteed that middle class Americans will have to pay more for health insurance and will receive sub-standard care.

Has imposed draconian regulations on businesses, forcing them to lay people off, freeze the hiring of new workers, and perhaps go out of business entirely.

Killed the work ethic of the American people.

Instigated class warfare.

What’s going to happen to our country? What’s going to happen to me? Right now, I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, we’re losing the United States of America. The current president has become a dictator because the people are letting him become a dictator. With the exception of a very few media outlets, no one in the fourth estate is holding the federal government accountable for its actions. When you criticize this president and attempt to point out his misguided ways, you’re called a racist. And in this, the second decade of the twenty-first century, being labeled a racist is about the worst thing you can be labeled. Why, it seems as though, being labeled a racist is worse than being a child molester, a murderer, a sex offender, a thief, and a traitor.

Can things be reversed? You might say that, if later this year, the republicans take back the Senate, the current president will be rendered impotent. But remember, he has his pen and his phone and doesn’t hesitate to force his agenda on the American people via executive orders. The media will not hold him accountable, and those that try to stop him are labeled racists. It sure looks hopeless for the United States of America, doesn’t it? But, we are the United States of America, an exceptional nation, no matter what the current dictator in chief says. We’re odds beaters and hard workers. Also, we are one nation under God. I think we’ll eventually take our country back, I really do.